Page 63 of Haakon's Fate
“Thank you for looking after me,” she said, keeping her gaze on her hands.
She felt both grateful and intimidated in front of this Haakon. It was as if they barely knew one another.
“Please,” he answered, looking almost offended. “Of course I looked after you. What else would you have me do?”
She had no answer so she simply smiled.
Later than afternoon, feeling stronger, she insisted on getting up. “After so long lying down, my back needs it.”
To her relief, Haakon didn’t insist she remain in bed.
While she put some order to her clothes, he went out and came back a moment later, carrying an enormous wooden chair. “I only have stools, as you can see,” he said by way of an explanation. “I borrowed this from Sven, who makes the sturdiest furniture I know.”
“Sturdy? How heavy do you think I am?”
“As heavy as a sparrow. That’s not the issue.” He waved her mock outrage away. He would not be provoked today, it seemed. “You need something to lean against. You’re still too weak.”
“I could have put one of the stools against the wall.” This time he made a face and Gytha berated herself for sounding so ungrateful when she was actually touched he had gone to all this trouble for her. “But thank you. It is very kind of you. Ignore me. I’m rather waspish when I’m ill at ease,” she added in a rare moment of honesty.
Yes, it was time she stopped trying to impress him at every turn. From the moment they had met, she had tried to be something she wasn’t with him, experienced, self-assured. It was exhausting and today she just didn’t have the energy. She would simply have to be herself and hope it was enough to hold his interest. If the gleam in his eye was any indication, it was.
“You, waspish?” he purred. “I never noticed.”
Reassured the spark between them had not died, she sat in the sturdy—and very comfortable chair. Yes. Just what she needed. She smiled at him.
“I think I could eat something now.”
A bowl and some bread were placed on the table before she could decide what she fancied. Perfect, she thought, as she took a sip of the fragrant broth, just what she needed again. How did Haakon always anticipate her needs thus?
“I never asked you,” she said once the bowl was empty. She had postposed the difficult discussion for as long as she dared, but she could not shy away any longer. “What did Wolf and Matilda say when you explained what had happened at the village?”
Though not through her fault, she had left him to deal with it all on his own. It couldn’t have been pretty.
He sighed, confirming her suspicions. “I wish I never have to do something like this ever again. Poor Matilda tried to be brave but…”
Yes. But she would have felt their last hope had gone up in smoke and Gytha could only agree. What next? She had no idea.
The following morning Gytha was pleased to see she was steady on her feet when she got up. Haakon asked if she would be all right alone for a while.
“I need to go see Magnus at the forge.”
“Of course.” How could she refuse? After days cooped up in the hut with her, he likely had many things to do. Besides, there was something she wanted to do, and him being gone would give her the opportunity to do it in secret.
Eadhild spent the morning with her, and Cwenthryth came to visit as well. After assuring her that she felt fine, Gytha asked if she could borrow what she needed for the surprise she had planned for Haakon.
He came back in the middle of the afternoon, earlier than she had anticipated, before she was ready. The door opened before she had time to hide what she was doing. Though it was probably too late to preserve the surprise, she tried to hide the bulky cloak behind her back anyway.
Haakon crossed his arms over his chest when he saw the sewing equipment on the table.
“Here I am, finding you with a needle in your hands again. Why am not surprised?” He looked, and sounded, highly amused. “What is it today? Were you about to pierce another part of your lovely body?”
Lovely body? Had he really said that? She felt heat rush all the way to the roots of her hair. “N-no.”
“Well, what are you doing, if I may ask?”
“If you must know… I thought I would repair the hole in your cloak,” she finally admitted. There was no point in lying. He would have spotted the fur spilling all around her. “And I wanted it to be a surprise.”
“My cloak?” He sounded as bewildered as if he’d had no idea what a cloak was.
